President Andres Pastrana of Colombia is preparing to meet Manuel Marulanda, the leader of the country's biggest rebel group later today to discuss ways of ending more than three decades of conflict.

Their talks will take place in San Vicente del Caguan town in the Amazon, where hundreds of delegates, international observers and journalists are gathering.

The talks are just the beginning of a peace process observers say will be lengthy and difficult, and far from certain of success.

On the eve of the meeting, right-wing paramilitaries announced that they had ended their self-imposed truce which took effect just before Christmas.